Led by three pins and one major upset, the fifth-ranked Southern Oregon wrestling team scored a 35-6 victory over third-ranked Menlo College today at McNeal Pavilion.

The Raiders also defeated Simon Fraser 35-9 today to open up the season 2-0. SOU hosts the fifth annual Best of the West Tournament all day Saturday at the Jackson County Expo in Central Point. The finals are slated to start at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

"I liked our aggressiveness today," SOU Head Coach Mike Ritchey said. "We went out and attacked. We took risks and made stuff happen and that's how we have to wrestle."

After dropping the opening match at 125 pounds, the Raiders went on a major run to make a statement against the Oaks. Senior and fourth-ranked 133-pounder Trevor Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) gave the Raiders the lead with a pin of Aaron Garcia in 5:38.

Barry Johnson (Dayton, Ore./Dayton) (141), Seth Roy (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood) (149) and Tommie Hooper (Burns, Ore./Burns) (157) then reeled off three victories in a row to give the Raiders a comfortable lead.

Following a Menlo victory at 165, junior Shaun Ceremello (Clovis, Calif./Clovis) had the biggest victory of the day, knocking off top-ranked Robert Davis 4-3 at 174. Ceremello won the match with a takedown with one second left.

"Shaun did a great job of staying discipline and wrestled him to the very end and found a way to win against a great wrestler," Ritchey said.

SOU then scored back-to-back pins by Chris Platte (184) and Chase Locke (Tualatin, Ore./West Linn) (197) to ice the match. Heavyweight John Bates (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City) ended the dual with a 10-8 major decision victory.

In SOU's victory over Simon Fraser, Johnson and Hooper both had falls to pace the Raiders.

Following Saturday's tournament, the Raiders return to action Dec. 6 when they host Oregon State at 1 p.m. at McNeal Pavilion.

SOU 35, Simon Fraser 9

125 – Michell Lofstedt (SOU) forfeit
133 – Raj Virdi (SFU) dec. Trevor Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) 6-0
141 – Barry Johnson (Dayton, Ore./Dayton) (SOU) fall Alec Tuura 2:25
149 – Seth Roy (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood) (SOU) dec. Isaac Wing 10-3
157 – Tommie Hooper (Burns, Ore./Burns) (SOU) fall Max Arcand 1:28
165 – Mike Lauer (Kihei, Hawaii/Baldwin) (SOU) major dec. Adam Tholhofer 12-3
174 – Shaun Ceremello (Clovis, Calif./Clovis) (SOU) forfeit
184 – Chris Platte (SOU) major dec. Clete Hansen 10-0
197 – Ali Al-Rekabi (SFU) dec. Chase Locke (Tualatin, Ore./West Linn) 10-3
Hwt – Arjan Bhullar (SFU) dec. John Bates (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City) 3-2

SOU 35, Menlo 6

125 – Jose Hernandez (MC) dec. Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) 5-1
133 – Trevor Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) (SOU) fall Aaron Garcia 5:38
141 – Barry Johnson (Dayton, Ore./Dayton) (SOU) dec. Mike Righi 8-3
149 – Seth Roy (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood) (SOU) dec. Josh Emmett 4-1
157 – Tommie Hooper (Burns, Ore./Burns) (SOU) major dec. Sabas Cruz 14-2
165 – Greg Alvarez (MC) dec. Mike Lauer (Kihei, Hawaii/Baldwin) 14-8
174 – Shaun Ceremello (Clovis, Calif./Clovis) (SOU) dec. Robert Davis 4-3
184 – Chris Platte (SOU) fall Gary Nelson 2:56
197 – Chase Locke (Tualatin, Ore./West Linn) (SOU) fall Al Kinslow 1:52
Hwt – John Bates (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City) (SOU) major dec. Nick Berry 10-2

Menlo 39, Simon Fraser 11

125 – Jose Hernandez (MC) forfeit
133 – Raj Virdi (SFU) tech fall Nate Faygenholtz 5:16
141 – Mike Righi (MC) tech fall Alec Tuura 6:56
149 – Lee Morrison (MC) dec. Isaac Wing 7-6
157 – Sabas Cruz (MC) major dec. Max Arcand 14-2
165 – Greg Alvarez (MC) fall Adam Tholhofer 1:47
174 – Robert Davis (MC) forfeit
184 – Gary Nelson (MC) major dec. Clete Hansen 8-0
197 – Ali Al-Rekabi (SFU) dec. Al Kinslow 10-9
Hwt – Arjan Bhullar (SFU) dec. Jesse Ruiz 4-1